From Memios
The Longevity Letter
Practical writing and video on living strong and active into your 90s. No hype, no supplements to sell. Just what the evidence supports and what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday.
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MedicationsOlanzapine
It reduces the symptoms of psychosis and mania, and the randomised evidence for that is strong.
2026-10-03 · 27 min read
MedicationsOmega-3-acid ethyl esters
The approved use is narrow and the evidence for it is clean: in two small randomised trials.
2026-10-03 · 39 min read
MedicationsOseltamivir
The question of what oseltamivir actually achieves is one of the most publicly fought-over in modern drug evidence, because for years most of the trial data sat unpublished with the manufacturer.
2026-10-03 · 31 min read
MedicationsOxcarbazepine
Oxcarbazepine's active metabolite blocks voltage-sensitive sodium channels, which stops over-excitable nerve membranes firing repeatedly.
2026-10-03 · 42 min read
MedicationsOxybutynin
For an overactive bladder, systematic reviews of randomised trials find that antimuscarinics including oxybutynin produce real but small average improvements in leakage and urinary frequency compared with placebo.
2026-10-03 · 24 min read
MedicationsPancrelipase
For people whose pancreas cannot produce enough digestive enzymes, pancrelipase measurably restores fat and protein absorption. In cystic fibrosis trials.
2026-10-03 · 46 min read
MedicationsPhentermine
Limited evidence. Phentermine produces modest short-term weight loss on top of diet.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsPioglitazone
Pioglitazone makes muscle, fat and liver tissue more responsive to the insulin a person already makes, which lowers blood glucose.
2026-10-03 · 27 min read
MedicationsPolyethylene Glycol 3350
Well established. The evidence here is consistent in direction but weak in quality.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsPolymyxin B sulfate and trimethoprim
Limited evidence. The evidence base specific to this combination is thin and old.
2026-10-03 · 26 min read
MedicationsPramipexole
For Parkinson's disease, trials show it improves motor symptoms and, started before levodopa, delays motor complications.
2026-10-03 · 35 min read
MedicationsPrazosin
Prazosin relaxes small arteries by blocking alpha-1 receptors, lowering blood pressure by a modest amount: a Cochrane review of alpha blockers put the best estimate at -8/-5 mmHg and said even that is likely an overestimate.
2026-10-03 · 19 min read
MedicationsProgesterone
Disputed. The evidence is strongest for two things.
2026-10-03 · 23 min read
MedicationsPromethazine
Limited evidence. The evidence is thin for a drug this old.
2026-10-03 · 34 min read
MedicationsRamipril
Ramipril lowers blood pressure and, in two large placebo-controlled outcome trials, lowered the risk of dying.
2026-10-03 · 46 min read
MedicationsRimegepant
The strongest evidence is for stopping a single migraine attack: in placebo-controlled trials about one in five people were pain-free two hours after a 75 mg dose, compared with about one in ten on placebo.
2026-10-03 · 26 min read
MedicationsRisperidone
Risperidone reliably reduces the symptoms of acute psychosis and reduces relapse when continued.
2026-10-03 · 36 min read
MedicationsRizatriptan
The evidence is that rizatriptan shortens an individual migraine attack; it does not prevent migraine.
2026-10-03 · 26 min read
MedicationsRopinirole
Well established. The evidence is strongest for two things and weaker than most people assume for a third.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsSacubitril; Valsartan
Well established. The evidence is strong for one specific situation and weak or absent for the others.
2026-10-03 · 19 min read
MedicationsSenna; Docusate
Limited evidence. The two halves have very different evidence.
2026-10-03 · 41 min read
MedicationsSildenafil
For erectile dysfunction the evidence is strong and comes from many randomised placebo-controlled trials pooled in a systematic review: sildenafil raises the proportion of intercourse attempts that succeed.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsSitagliptin
The evidence is that sitagliptin lowers blood sugar modestly and does not change the risk of heart attack, stroke or death.
2026-10-03 · 29 min read
MedicationsSodium Fluoride
For preventing tooth decay the evidence is strong and quantified at the low end of exposure, and it gets contested as exposure rises.
2026-10-03 · 35 min read